Date:15/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/15/stories/2008051560120600.htm

Tamil Nadu

Maintain vaccine temperature: paediatricians

Staff Reporter

TIRUCHI: The Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) has urged the State Government to equip primary health centres with power generators to maintain the cold chain temperature for vaccines.

In its recommendations to be submitted to the Health Department, Association Tiruchi chapter secretary S.Pannerselvam said solvents for the vaccines must be segmented carefully to avoid amalgamation. Names of the vaccines must be provided in bigger letters and in Tamil to facilitate easy identification. Multi-dose vial vaccines should be replaced with single dose vial vaccines. Primary health centres must have life-saving medical kits including hydrocortisone, suction apparatus and oxygen supplier.

Ambulances and anaesthetists could be made available at all PHCs on days of vaccination and village health nurses trained to treat after-effects of vaccination in children as per World Health Organisation guidelines, Dr. Pannerselvam said. A seminar on ‘Respiratory tract infectious management’ was held during the meeting on Sunday. Addressing presspersons on the sidelines of a seminar, paediatricians observed that the incidence of asthma among children has gone up significantly with the rise in pollution levels but the awareness level among the parents was low.

Department Head of Paediatrics, Manipal Hospital, Bangalore, Jagdish Chinnappa said about 25 per cent of infants in Bangalore were affected with asthma, which was the highest in the country.

Terming it a ‘lifestyle-related disease,’ Dr. Chinnappa said exposure to high amount of air pollution at a very early stage was the key reason for increased incidence.

Westernisation of homes with carpets, curtains, cushion couches and soft toys have augmented the risk for the children, said S. Balasubramanian, senior paediatric consultant of Kanchi Kamakoti Child Trust Hospitals, Chennai. Referring to the myths associated with asthma, Department Head of Paediatrics, Surya Hospital, Chennai, V. V. Varadarajan, said parents prefer pills to aerosol drugs, as they believe inhalers were addictive. Allaying misconceptions, Dr. Varadarajan said aerosol drugs cut down the side effects and were more effective in controlling asthma.